1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a skylight guard assembly and, more specifically, to a screen assembly which can be mounted to skylight frames.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Skylights come in various shapes and sizes including flat, plastic dome, pyramid, or continuous vaulted skylights. There are also heat and smoke vents with plastic domes. The majority of installed skylights are on relatively flat roofs of schools, warehouses, and manufacturing plants. Skylights on relatively flat roofs present a hazard during building construction, roof repair, and maintenance on mechanical units installed on the roof of the building. Every year, fatal falls result from failure to provide appropriate guarding and fall protection around skylights. Persons on the roof may stumble, back onto, sit or attempt to sit on the skylight, resulting in the person falling through the skylight. Skylights are not designed to support the weight of a person. Thus, a safety guard or railing is required to prevent persons from breaking the skylight and falling through the skylight opening.
It is well known in the art that one means for protecting against a person inadvertently falling through a skylight is to install a wire mesh or screen above a flat skylight to prevent a person from falling through the skylight. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,233,530 and 1,236,008 disclose wire mesh positioned a short distance above a flat glass skylight and folded over the skylight frame. The wire mesh is stretched across the skylight and attached to lugs mounted on vertical faces of the skylight frame.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recognized the dangers posed by skylights and has promulgated requirements for a standard skylight screen in 29 CFR 1910.23(e)(8) as follows:
Skylight screens shall be of such construction and mounting that they are capable of withstanding a load of at least 200 pounds applied perpendicularly at any one area on the screen. They shall also be of such construction and mounting that under ordinary loads or impacts, they will not deflect downward sufficiently to break the glass below them. The construction shall be of grillwork with openings not more than 4 inches long or of slatwork with openings not more than 2 inches wide with length unrestricted.
Skylights also provide an unseen entry to a building for burglars. Thus, skylights should be protected against such unlawful entry by providing a guard assembly over the skylight which would deter burglars from breaking the skylight and gaining entry into the building.
It would be desirable to have a simple and economical skylight guard assembly for preventing skylight accidents which can be easily installed on existing skylights and also on new installations of skylights. Also, it would be desirable that the skylight guard assembly be adapted for use with either flat, dome, pyramid, or vaulted skylights. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a skylight guard assembly that would be a deterrent to criminal activity. PG,4